Unlikely Alliances
The story begins with the meeting of unlikely allies in the uncertain land of Rheene. To begin with, Lord Torin was forced to request a replacement to fill his place as head of the Church of Belaius in Rheene as he could no longer maintain the position and rule in his brother's stead at the same time. So it was that he sent to Eblund and requested that a replacement priest be sent. The church chose to send Theon Donatus, a newly annoited priest, to head to Rheene to replace him. However, the road was long and Theon had lived his life partially crippled from a debilitating disease he once had so the knights of the church of Tithon sent Sir Simon Cadwin and a small contingent of knight errants and squires to accompany him on his trip and to safeguard the church and city if war should break out in Rheene. Upon his arrival, Theon pledged that he would do whatever he could to help Torin cope and resolve the situation for the good of the people of Adara. The next to arrive was Thrym Firbrand. Thrym had left Firbrand Hold in faraway Ysven where his father was ruler on a journey to expand his worldly experience and prove his worth as heir. However, Thrym's ship strayed too close to the God's Maw and was caught in a storm that had caused him and his crew to lose all sense of direction. Thinking that he was still just north of Druglug, Thrym turned his ship and crew straight south where they eventually came upon a river mouth which led them through several fishing and small anchorages bordering Rygild and Adara. Thinking at first that he had somehow turned back into Ysven, the strange architecture and unfamiliar land prompted him to land his ship and he eventually did so on the shore of Rheene. Greeted by a contingent of guards armed with crossbows, Thrym exited his vessel and as soon as he knew for certain he was in a strange land declared he was from Ysven and would see the lands lord on a mission of peace and goodwill on behalf of his father. Similarly, the cultural diplomat representing Vartia was also visiting the court. Vesterline is Adaran born and blessed by her deity Berethane with the knowledge of transformation. Her beliefs in older deities and her hedonism made her an open target to the Vartian government who was looking for support from one of Adara's own. Vesterline's mission was to go forth and establish the goodwill intentions of her employers at any cost so as to improve the strained relations between the two countries. She and her appointed scribe, Anton, were visiting the court to great the new priest and knight commander. At this point, Thrym was ushered in by the guards where he declared his intentions to support the new lord to display the goodwill of his father's house to the lord of Rheene. The guests were permitted to attend the Spring Festival in the city if they left all their arms back at the palace under guard while Torin decided what to do with them. After the celebration, Thrym was to be returned to the castle to hear Torin's pronouncement. When he returned that evening, Vesterline and Anton returned as well along with Theon and Simon to see what the outcome would be. Torin explained that the situation between himself and Lord Ratha was becoming dire and that Ratha had begun to amass troops in Rathane. At this declaration, Thrym immediately pledged that he and his crew of warriors would prove their good intentions by aiding Torin against their enemy. Not to be outdone, Vesterline also annonced that she would do what she could as well on behalf the Vartian Empire as a show of good faith towards the people of Adara and Rheene. Torin explained that with things being the way they were that could not afford to have an unknown element on the field with his soldiers and knights. He instead asked that they do something first to show that their intentions were indeed for the best. Relations had been tense for some time with the Archdruid to the southwest and Torin needed to try and make amends so as not to risk giving Ratha a potential ally. Thrym and Vesterline both agreed readily to this course of action. Similarly, Theon requested to go along as well so that Rheene would have proper representation from a city official and to make sure the negotiations went smoothly for the sake of the people of Rheene. And so the following morning Lord Torin sent a small party of scouts with Theon, Simon, Vesterline, Anton and Thrym to show them the way to the Archdruid.